The room was filled with the afternoon light. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the faint scent of flowers his mother always placed on the dining table. Nicolas sat at the head of the table, somewhat uncomfortable, while his older brother, Ethan, leaned toward him with a worried smile.
His mother and Ethan had tried to cheer him up, interpreting his tears with concern, thinking he was devastated for not winning his first competition.
"Hey, Nico…" Ethan said softly. "You did well, buddy. I heard many of them had raced on that track before."
Nicolas returned a calm smile. No words were needed. He knew his brother turned soft whenever he saw his siblings cry.
Ethan seemed to feel he had to take the role of the man of the house as the older brother, and since their father's death, he had stopped fighting with them and tried to be there for both of them.
Next to him, his mother watched with eyes full of pride and worry. Every gesture of hers was a reminder of everything she had sacrificed to keep the family afloat after their father's death. She tried to speak but only managed a sigh—a mix of exhaustion and hope he remembered so well.
She had been the one to encourage Nicolas to take up karting. His father had been a huge Formula 1 fan, and Nicolas realized this was her way of honoring his memory.
"Come on, Nicolas!" his younger sister Ariana exclaimed with a teasing giggle. "Are you going to stop making that gloomy face or keep worrying Mom while she's trying to cook?"
Nicolas laughed softly. His sister had always been able to disarm him with a single look, and at that moment, all his worries seemed small in the warmth of the moment.
He leaned back in his chair and watched them—all of them. His mother with her silent strength, Ethan with his infinite patience, Ariana with her contagious audacity. He remembered past mistakes: how he had pushed his mother into risky decisions, ignored Ethan's advice, and hurt Ariana with his ego and obsession with racing.
And for the first time since they had left the karting track and handed him a silly participation medal, he smiled without guilt, but with clarity. This time would be different. This time, family would come first. This time, he wouldn't let ambition destroy those he loved most.
"Don't worry," he finally said. "This time, everything will be different."
Nicolas's smile was calm, and the others took his words as a determination to not give up and to win in future races. They weren't wrong—Nicolas had been mapping out in his mind a series of steps and plans to solve all the problems his family would face.
But for that, he would need money. Nicolas could invest in cryptocurrencies, trusting his future knowledge, or buy shares in companies he knew would experience astronomical growth. But to make great fortunes from these opportunities, he needed a lot of money.
Impossible for a child, and he wouldn't count on his mother's funds; that could never be forgiven again. So he could only do something he trusted and already knew how to do, even if he wasn't the best: race and win competitions.
And as he listened to them laugh and talk, he felt a warmth he hadn't felt in years. Determination settled in him. This time, everything started from the right place.
After a pleasant family dinner, Nicolas said goodbye and took a bath in the tub. He hadn't noticed before, his mind occupied with other matters, but his body was exhausted.
Since it was his first time competing at a semi-professional level, and as a high school student who hadn't practiced other sports, his physical condition was simply average, if not below.
He also hadn't put into practice his knowledge of how to conserve energy. So he took the moment in the tub to calmly analyze what his opportunity in this life was truly about.
Instinctively, he brought the coin closer to his chest. A soft light emerged from it, and the system appeared before his eyes, floating over his chest like a hologram visible only to him.
The interface displayed his stats: strength, endurance, agility, reflexes, spatial memory, Race IQ, mental composure, mechanical intuition… all with low values, as expected. It was an honest reflection of what he really was: a 14-year-old high school student, without serious physical training, with only slightly above-average talent.
Then his gaze rested on another section of the system: a skills slot. Empty. No skills unlocked, none ready to use. The information transmitted to his brain the first time he opened the system said he would gain skills by achieving podium positions in races, and the higher the position and category, the better the skills.
Nicolas immersed himself in the water and smiled with some irony. A simple but powerful reminder: he wasn't invincible. He didn't have special abilities from the start. No shortcuts. Everything depended on him—his discipline, his decisions, and his will to learn, improve, and endure.
As the warm water caressed his skin and his thoughts calmed, he realized something deeper: the system didn't make him a champion automatically. It only offered him an opportunity. Everything else—his strength, mind, strategy—he would have to earn himself.
So he finished his bath, and though exhausted, he turned on his computer. The light of the screen illuminated his face as he reclined in his chair, still with drops of water running through his hair. It wasn't time to sleep. This time, he had the chance to plan, learn, and not repeat mistakes.
He opened documents, racing videos, professional driver analyses, and tutorials on physical and mental training. He sought information on hand-eye coordination, energy management on track, concentration techniques, and training planning.
His mind absorbed every detail with surgical precision: how to improve posture in corners, how to breathe to conserve energy, the importance of core and neck strength to withstand high-speed G-forces, and even the diet and rest habits of drivers. All information he would have previously dismissed or ignored out of arrogance or laziness.
Hours passed without him noticing. Nicolas took notes, created mental diagrams, and planned exercise routines he would follow from now on. He even decided to follow a strict diet for better control of his development.
Then, suddenly, a sound startled him: a metallic ping, soft but clear.
A notification floated above his chest:
"+1 point in Mentality. Congratulations on your study and planning. Keep it up."
Nicolas smiled to himself, letting satisfaction blend with motivation. It wasn't a big leap, but it was a start. Proof that every small effort counted, and this time he could build his path step by step.
He reclined for a moment, closing his eyes, feeling the satisfaction of a job well done. This was the first time he had truly exerted himself, and the fact that the system recognized his effort filled him with comforting energy.